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SUMMARY:Biodiversity offsetting and the construction of &quot\;Equivalent 
 natures&quot\;: A Marxist critique  - Elia Apostolopoulou\, University of 
 Cambridge 
DTSTART:20180227T130000Z
DTEND:20180227T140000Z
UID:TALK99319@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Karen Wong
DESCRIPTION:In this paper we explore the logic of biodiversity offsetting\
 , focusing on its core promise: the production of ‘equivalent natures’
 . We show how the construction of equivalence unravels the environmental c
 ontradictions of capitalism by exploring how and why it is achieved\, and 
 its profound implications for nature-society dialectics. We focus on the c
 onstruction of an ecological equivalence between ecosystems\, the construc
 tion of ecological credits that are considered equivalent in monetary term
 s\, and\, finally\, the construction of an equivalence between places. The
  existing critical literature\, in some cases implicitly and unwittingly\,
  assumes that biodiversity offsetting creates value. In contrast to this a
 rgument\, we apply Marx’s labour theory of value to conclude that in the
  majority of instances offsetting does not create value\, rather it is an 
 instance of rent. We also draw on Marxist analyses on the production of na
 ture and place to show that biodiversity offsetting radically rescripts na
 ture as placeless\, obscuring the fact that it facilitates the production 
 of space\, place\, and nature according to the interests of capital while 
 emphasizing that at the core of offsetting lie social struggles over right
 s and access to land and nature. Biodiversity offsetting’s dystopian vis
 ion for the future makes it an important focus for all critical scholars s
 eeking to understand and challenge the contradictions of the capitalist pr
 oduction of nature.
LOCATION:HB101\, Sir William Hardy Building Seminar Room\, Department of G
 eography
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